


Letter to Iroh

by greyj30



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Sorry, Leaves from the vine, Letters, Lu Ten does not live, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon, Sad, inspired by an excited conversation, its the same as canon except they get cannons, letters from the battlefield, the last letter, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28627125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyj30/pseuds/greyj30
Summary: Lu Ten writes a letter to his father, General Iroh. This is the last letter he will ever write before he dies on the battlefield.
Relationships: Iroh & Lu Ten
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12
Collections: Avatar Ficlets/Short Stories





	Letter to Iroh

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to [devilkati](https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilkati/pseuds/devilkati) for beta reading, and thanks to [iamasradiantasthesun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imasradiantasthesun/pseuds/imasradiantasthesun) for beta reading plus inspiring this fic based on our conversation!!
> 
> Important note: there were no cannons from what I can recall but they have fireworks and blasting jelly so close enough

~~General Iroh,~~

Dear Father,

~~I will see you again when victory is obtained.~~

Forgive me for the errors, but we are almost out of paper. Nothing here is as I thought it would be. Fire Lord Azulon talked of war as glorious battle after battle, fighting the savage enemy into submission. You talked of war as a necessary evil, harsh, but the path to a greater nation. I see now that it is neither. This was not necessary, and never was. I am speaking freely, too freely, but I have little to fear now.

Just this morning I witnessed a man beside me killed by the Earth Kingdom’s new weapons. They’ve been calling their machines “cannons”, fueled by blasting jelly and filled with fire. I watched this man die instantly as the cannonball punctured his armor and left him with a hole through his chest. I stood and watched and thought, _how could something borne of fire kill its own?_ But deep down I knew. 

I will not escape this war. I know that now. There are forces beyond my control and it would be cowardly to leave my men. I wish I had seen more of the world than what our nation has already colored red with blood and smoke. 

Once, we stopped at a small Earth Kingdom town and talked to other troops. They told me of hills swathed in deep greens and trees with pale leaves. I remember our picnics on Ember Island. I hope to remember them when the time finally comes. I’ve heard that Ba Sing Se is beautiful. When you finally take the city, please have a picnic for me. Hopefully it is not colored too red yet. 

I am barely eighteen and staring at a battlefield that will take my life. My cousins Zuko and Azula are still barely children. Please keep them safe from this.

Father, I love you as a dutiful son, and as such, I cannot lie to you. I am scared, so scared, of what will come, and what will be. I will not waver from my duties, but I will plead that this is worth it.

Your loyal son,  
Lu Ten

**Author's Note:**

> look i would say im sorry but this was really fun to write ok
> 
> come yell at me on my [tumblr](https://greyj30.tumblr.com/) about it or comment what you think below :)


End file.
